Last fall, my wife and I had a discussion about raising a couple of chickens. It might be a fun hobby, provide fresh eggs and help teach our kids about where food comes from -let alone teach responsibility. I happen to be doing a Master Plan for some residential clients and yes, they have 5 chickens. It had to be karma. The local zoning ordanance for our property says we can have one ‘farm’ animal. That means one chicken or one cow! How does a cow equal a chicken? I made the case to the town that one cow should equal TWO chickens. They are in the process of evaluating a change to the zoning ordinance. I was on a roll!

This was going to be fun! Our chickens would have the coolest coop ever. Designs were spinning in my head and I was looking forward to those special bonding moments with my kids as we build this work of art together. My wife’s birthday was coming up and what a perfect gift to give someone you love (and who has everything). My youngest daughter and I made a little cardboard chicken coop complete with a walking chicken that laid gumball eggs. The big day came and we were excited to see my wife’s reaction.

We were shocked to see that our wonderful gift went over like a lead balloon. She didn’t recall our conversation and didn’t share in our excitement about raising chickens! I am still living with the ridicule from my wifes’s friends about my chicken birthday gift. Maybe I was more excited about designing and building a chicken coop then actually raising chickens anyway… It was still a ‘win’ for me -I never did have to get a different gift -maybe I will go golfing later today… Click on the images to enlarge.

Here are some links to what others have done:
Modern Chicken Coop in Seattle
Three Modern Chicken Coops by Studio H
All Cooped Up

Written by Michael Huber AIA LEED AP
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